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Close Races on Election Day; Election Irregularities Reported; Saddam Hussein Faces Second Trial; Floods Hit Washington State

Aired November 07, 2006 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

For the next three hours, watch events happen live on this Tuesday, November 7th, election day.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Voters decide who's in, who's out and who's in charge of Congress for the next two years. We show you the races to watch.

HARRIS: Voters facing choices on delicate social issues. We focus on the stem cell ballot measure in Missouri.

COLLINS: Scars of tyranny -- a witness shows the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime. See his story here in THE NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Your vote -- you may cast it in the humble setting of a firehouse or a school gym, but its impact could shake the halls of Congress and tip the balance of power on Capitol Hill. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs today. At least three dozen Republicans are considered at risk. Democrats are hoping to wrestle away at least 15 of those GOP seats to regain control of the House for the first time since 1994. Many pundits predict Democrats will take over the House. The Senate may be a safer haven for Republicans. Seven going seats are considered vulnerable and possibly two Democratic seats, as well.

The Dems would have to not only hold onto those two seats, but take six going seats. Many analysts believe that's a long shot.

CNN has deployed its correspondents and vast resources across the country to cover the key races. We will travel from Connecticut to Texas to Montana. Buckle up for this election edition of CNN's NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: A neck-and-neck too close to call Senate race in Missouri, where voters are also considering stem cell research.

CNN's Jonathan Freed is in St. Louis this morning -- good morning to you, Jonathan. JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

It's almost like there are two elections here that are intermingling and really fueling each other. You have the Senate race, which is catching all of the attention here, between Claire McCaskill, the Democrat, and the incumbent Republican Jim Talent. But you also have a ballot measure which would empower and allow for more stem cell research here in this state.

And the big question here is how is that -- there's no question that it's galvanizing voters and bringing them out and making them lean forward and pay closer attention to this campaign. But the question is how might that affect the two Senate candidates, as well, once those people get into the voting booth?

Some people motivated for change in Washington, others motivated for more personal reasons, because there was this stem cell measure either passed or defeated -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Jonathan, we know that stem cell research is already legal in Missouri. So I get a little bit confused about -- we've talked a lot about Amendment Two and all of this. They call it the Stem Cell Initiative. And then there's been a lot of discussion about what's really issued that initiative by way of a ban on cloning.

What are you hearing now today?

Do people know what that initiative is really about?

FREED: This has been a very fierce and controversial debate here for the past several months in Missouri. And people have been taking their cues from various sources.

On the pro side, you have celebrities like Michael J. Fox and Sheryl Crow, who is from Missouri, who is a cancer survivor herself and who was running ads on television, as well as half of her Web site being devoted to this. People are paying attention to this kind of thing. Even if you're not for it, you're still listening to what the other side is saying. It's that kind of a debate.

COLLINS: Have you had a chance, though, Jonathan, to look at the actual ballot to see how that question is within with reference to Amendment Two?

FREED: We are going to be doing that a little bit later today, once we have a chance to unplug from here and get to a polling station and see exactly how it's worded and how people are interpreting that working, as well.

COLLINS: Wonderful.

We will certainly let you do that and have you report back here.

Thank you so much, Jonathan Freed, on top of it for us in Missouri.

Thanks again.

HARRIS: Well, Maryland is one of the key battleground states in today's elections.

CNN's Brian Todd is in Bowie, Maryland -- and, Brian, if you would, let's start with the voting system that is being used throughout Maryland. Controversial, to say the least.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Controversial, to say the least, Tony.

It is a touch screen, at least in this precinct. There have been touch screens throughout the state. On primary day a couple of months ago, a lot of problems.

Some poll workers forgot to bring access cards so that they could get into the machines and get them started. So that caused a lot of delays. At the end of the day, other poll workers forgot to remove the cards, the memory cards and the computer chips, so that those votes could be tallied accurately.

Electronic polling books, which are essentially digital voter registration rolls shut down. They just malfunctioned.

So a lot of problems here on primary day in September.

I'm here with Rolando Sanidad.

He is the chief election judge here. He is the one in charge in this precinct, in Bowie, Maryland, of monitoring the electronic voting, monitoring all the voting and making sure everything goes smoothly.

Rolando, so far, how has it been?

ROLANDO SANIDAD, ELECTION JUDGE: I think today we've had a pretty successful opening today. We opened on time, at 7:00. And in order to get to where we are today, we've actually had a lot of remedial training. There was a lot of checklists. I'll show you here. We've had a lot of checklists making sure that we have everything. We also -- and here you go, there's the checklist right there.

TODD: Right. This was (UNINTELLIGIBLE) when they -- after the primary problems, you did a little bit of retraining.

What were they most concerned about going into today?

What was the main technical problem?

SANIDAD: They wanted to make sure that we understood the full process of how everything is set up and making sure we had all the equipment we needed to get the polls open.

TODD: OK, so...

SANIDAD: And, actually...

TODD: ... and when the -- the big problem on primary day was, as I mentioned, the electronic polling books. The registration went down.

You've got something there as a backup.

SANIDAD: Right.

TODD: What do you -- show that to our viewers.

And what do you do with that?

SANIDAD: Basically this is an encoder that we use to encode the voters' access cards so that they have access to voting on electronic machines. And that's what we use right now and as a backup, if the polling booth polls go down.

TODD: And what are you most worried about as an election judge, right now, today, after all the problems that the state had on primary day?

SANIDAD: Well, my thing was making sure that we opened on time, because we have a lot of people here that show up before work so that they can continue on their normal day, and that's what we -- and that's what we did today so...

TODD: And we saw no long lines here.

SANIDAD: No.

TODD: So people -- these machines have not jammed up at all, have they?

SANIDAD: Right. No, they haven't jammed up at all today, so...

TODD: Well, thank you, Rolando.

Good luck.

SANIDAD: OK.

TODD: Hope it goes smoothly from here on in.

SANIDAD: OK.

TODD: Tony, very smooth here, as you can see.

HARRIS: That's great.

TODD: No lines at all right now and the people have headed back to work. But they don't expect too much more volume.

I just spoke to Governor Bob Ehrlich a moment ago. He was here. He said that they, overall in the state, have some light voter turnout. Not a lot of lines at many polling places. He has encouraged people, after the problems in the primary, to vote absentee and just as an option. He didn't say everybody should do it, but he said keep it as an option, vote absentee if you have to.

He says he believes a lot of people are doing that today.

HARRIS: OK.

CNN's Brian Todd for us in Bowie, Maryland.

Brian, appreciate it.

Thank you.

COLLINS: A big turnout expected in Connecticut today. A three- way Senate race and close Congressional battles are a big draw.

Our Dan Lothian is in Hartford now -- how does it look to you there, Dan?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Well, you know, this, obviously, is a state that's been getting a lot of attention, national attention, because of a Senate race, $30 million -- more than $30 million pumped into the campaign. There have been some tough, fierce television ad wars.

The candidates have been doing all the talking. Now it's a chance for the voters to talk back. And the secretary of state's office believing that this could be record turnout, in part, because of all the key House races here and the very one competitive Senate race.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice-over): Senator Joe Lieberman may be the odds on favorite, running as an Independent. But he's still sprinting to the finish line.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I don't want my supporters to think that this is over and they're going to stay home or decide they want to throw a vote to somebody else for some symbolic reason.

LOTHIAN: Meeting with workers at a utility company, Lieberman painted his Democratic opponent, Ned Lamont, as a one issue candidate and a partisan polarizer.

LIEBERMAN: It does get in the way of us getting something done for you, the people.

NED LAMONT (D-CT), SENATE CANDIDATE: Now, remember, each and every one of you guys...

LOTHIAN: Lamont, a wealthy businessman who beat Lieberman in the August Democratic primary, put in the final miles of his campaign bus tour trying to convince voters he's the right candidate for real change.

LAMONT: Look at the crowds that are coming out. People fundamentally want a real change in how we're doing business in Washington.

LOTHIAN: Speaking to union workers, Lamont returned to the central theme of his campaign -- the war in Iraq.

LAMONT: This war is wrong. It's hurting our country at home. It's hurting our country abroad. It's time to bring our troops home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

LOTHIAN: The Republican in this Senate race, Alan Schlesinger, has not been a major factor. That, say political analysts, has helped Lieberman, who's attracting support from Republicans.

PROF. KEN DAUTRICH, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT: He's identified as a Democrat, but an independent Democrat. And so his voice rises above partisan politics.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LOTHIAN: Lamont hopes that he can reel in those undecided voters. He said back when he first got into this race, no one really expected him to succeed. He went on to win the Democratic primary. He believes he can pull it off today -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, but in the beginning, didn't this really expect to be a little bit closer of a race? Some people are looking at Lamont as making a few mistakes here.

LOTHIAN: That's correct. I mean from that he was able to pull off that victory of a three term incumbent, it was a very tight race coming out of that primary. But then, according to analysts, he did have some -- Lamont did make some missteps initially on -- that's when the veteran took advantage of those missteps and really started ramping up his campaign, going think on the attack.

You know, this whole campaign has been about the war in Iraq. Senator Lieberman started countering some of the negative attacks and that's the reason he's been able to pull ahead.

COLLINS: All right, Dan Lothian with the story for us in Hartford, Connecticut.

Thank you, Dan.

HARRIS: President Bush casting his vote this morning in Crawford, Texas.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is there -- Elaine, good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Well, that's right, last hour, President Bush did cast his ballot from his adopted hometown here of Crawford, Texas.

He made some brief remarks to reporters at that polling station at the Crawford firehouse. The president did not take any questions. But with the first lady by his side, Mr. Bush encouraged people to carry out their civic duty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As far as I know, it's a privilege to be able to cast our vote. And I encourage all Americans to vote today. We live in a free society and our government is only as good as the willingness of our people to participate in it. And therefore, no matter what your party affiliation, or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty. Cast your ballot and let your voice be heard.

And so we thank you for -- we thank you for being a good citizen. It's good to be here voting in Texas. We're going to be heading back up to Washington here pretty soon and watch the results. Appreciate it.

QUESTION: Sir, are you a factor in the outcome today?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And later today, the president, as you heard, will head to Washington to await those election results. He wrapped up a five day campaign push that brought him through 10 states. The president's message throughout really focused largely on taxes and terrorism, and also the war in Iraq.

Now, he campaigned in friendly territory. The strategy, really, to try to get the GOP's base out to the polls. Tonight, the president will learn whether or not his efforts and his policies will help lead his party to victory -- Tony.

HARRIS: Elaine Quijano for us in Crawford, Texas with the president.

Elaine, thank you.

COLLINS: Chad Myers joining us now to give us a little bit of an election preview as far as the weather is concerned.

Chad, this is fascinating. You guys have some great maps to show us. Hey, if it's raining, are people going to go to the polls?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They say -- now, this is a study by many that are very, very important and very studious, that if it rains an inch in a state, that's 1 percent less that people will not be going to the polls than would have gone on a sunny day.

(WEATHER REPORT) COLLINS: Battle in Illinois -- he is a rising Republican star, she is an Iraq war veteran on a new mission.

A live report on a race to watch here in THE NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Far from Mark Foley's old Congressional district in Florida, the page scandal gets -- casts a long shadow over a New York race. That story in THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And already sentenced to death, Saddam Hussein is still on trial. Today in court, a witnesses showed his wounds. He says the former dictator is responsible.

We go live to Baghdad in THE NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Hey be sure to join us at noon today for an hour of special election day coverage.

We will be joined by Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon, right here at noon Eastern in THE NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Democrats and Republicans fighting it out in New Jersey. A Senate battle there is one of today's races to watch.

To Hoboken now and CNN's Allan Chernoff -- good morning to you, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

And let's put the emphasis on fighting. Boy, has this been a dirty race. I think New Jersey will want to take a collective shower tonight after the campaign and the election is all over, because there have been lots of personal attacks.

Senator Robert Menendez, the Democrat, has endured constant attacks on his character. The Republican challenger, Tom Kean, claiming that Menendez is corrupt, claiming that he is under federal investigation. Senator Menendez has denied that and the senator said this morning he believes that New Jersey voters will reject the negative campaigning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: I would never want to have a campaign that is focused just on the politics of personal destruction. That's what my opponent chose to spend all of his time, all of his resources -- over $7 million in personal attack ads.

The bottom line is I think he'll see a rejection of that tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: Senator Menendez, for his part, has criticized Tom Kean's fundraising and also said a vote for Tom Kean is essentially a vote for President Bush and a vote for the war.

Meanwhile, Kean has actually been trying to distance himself from the president, saying that he is an independent reformer. He hasn't been identifying himself so much as a Republican. He's also called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Menendez is leading slightly in the polls and Democrats certainly are hoping that the senator can hold onto his seat as the Democrats try to regain control of the Senate -- Heidi.

COLLINS: But, Allan, before we let you go, talk a little bit about the political history in New Jersey. I mean this goes long and deep -- 30 years since a Republican has been elected to the Senate.

Shouldn't this be pretty easy for the Democrats to win?

CHERNOFF: Yes, you would think so. In fact, the last time a Republican won a Senate seat here was 1972. But the truth is New Jersey is actually not that much of a blue state. It is, but it's pretty well split.

Let's have a look at the Congressional map here of New Jersey. You have a look. It actually looks red. But these red portions, which are the Republican dominated areas, they are less populous than the blue areas closer to New York City.

But the breakdown of the Congressional districts -- 13 of them, seven are Democratic and six are Republican. So there are plenty of Republicans in New Jersey.

Another thing that's very interesting about New Jersey, there are actually more people registered as Independents, unaffiliated, than Democrat or Republican. So certainly there could be somewhat of a swing vote here in New Jersey. That's why this is such an interesting race to watch.

COLLINS: Yes, you're going to have a fun-one out there today.

Keep your eye out for Tony Soprano, OK?

HARRIS: Oh, jeez.

COLLINS: Allan, thanks so much.

We'll check back later on with you.

HARRIS: The Capitol Hill page scandal casting a shadow over one race in Upstate New York.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is in Buffalo -- and, Deborah, if you're in Buffalo, you must be talking to us about the Tom Reynolds-Jack Davis race -- good morning.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

It's a good guess on your part. Yes, in fact, we are here -- this is one of the most intense Congressional races in local history. Everybody who is coming to vote today very much aware of what the stakes are, that this seat is in play and it could determine the political future.

Now, you have Tom Reynolds on one hand. He was facing a serious challenge even before the Foley scandal. He is up against a 73-year- old businessman, a Republican turned Democrat, Jack Davis.

This is a rematch, of sorts. The two men went up against each other two years ago. Reynolds squeaked out a win back then. But this time around, you've got the turn in the war in Iraq. You also have that little affair in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): The understand the political stakes of Upstate New York, you have to understand the importance of Republican Tom Reynolds. He has spent his entire adult life in politics, the last eight years as a U.S. Congressman. But now, the man recently touted as a possible House speaker is fighting for his political life against political novice, millionaire industrialist, Jack Davis.

Why the turn?

The Congressional page scandal is partly to blame.

REP. TOM REYNOLDS (R), NEW YORK: Looking back, more should have been done.

FEYERICK: Reynolds heads the National Republican Congressional Committee and admitted he knew last spring about inappropriate messages sent to pages from Republican Congressman Mark Foley.

Reynolds tried to deflect criticism, passing the buck to Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

REYNOLDS: We have been taught that if you see a circumstance that isn't right, take it to your supervisor.

FEYERICK: After that, his chief of staff, a former Foley staffer, resigned. Whatever the fallout from the scandal, Davis is hoping his views on the economy and keeping jobs in the beleaguered New York region will end the Reynolds' tenure.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FEYERICK: And the big question this morning is where exactly is Tom Reynolds?

Usually a campaign staff will let the media know very well in advance as to where their candidate is voting. However, that right now seems to be a very well kept secret. Jack Davis did vote earlier today -- Tony.

HARRIS: Deborah Feyerick for us in Buffalo.

Deb, thank you.

COLLINS: Coming up next, we're going to go live to Florida, live to Ohio. More election coverage coming up right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Stay with CNN for unmatched coverage of the election. Prime time begins at 7:00 Eastern with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs. They lead the best political team on television as your votes are counted.

Then, a special two hour late night edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." It is going to be a long day for Larry, but we know he can handle it. That begins at midnight in the East, 9:00 p.m. in the West. But we're going to see him here in a minute.

Trust CNN, of course, for the races and the results here.

HARRIS: Larry is going to be here?

COLLINS: Yes. He's going to be here, coming up later in the broadcast.

HARRIS: I'll stick around.

Microsoft has a way to let you download TV shows and actually watch them on your TV.

Huh?

Andy Serwer is here Minding Your Business -- Andy, good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you, Tony.

Microsoft is going toe to toe with a couple of its arch rivals, rolling out two new series of products.

First of all, let's talk about this downloading movies and TV shows. This will be directly onto your Xbox 360, if you've got that, Xbox 360 Live program. On November 22nd, they're going to be rolling out a package of 750 hours of shows like "South Park," "CSI," movies like "V For Vendetta," "Mission Impossible 3."

And you're right, Tony, it's going to be right on your TV, which is kind of an advantage over, say, an iTunes kind of situation, where, you know, you have to watch it on your computer. You can get it over your TV but you get a little degradation doing that.

HARRIS: Oh.

SERWER: And, of course, you know, the PS3, the PlayStation 3, coming out in November, also. So this is definitely a salvo directed toward Sony.

HARRIS: So, Any, how much, how much, how much dollars and cents here? How much will the shows and the movies cost us? SERWER: Well, you know, they're not saying exactly right now.

Don't you hate it when they do that, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes.

SERWER: But they said it's going to be competitive with other services, which suggests a TV show would be $1.99 to own it, a movie $3.99 to own it for 24 hours. So that's more of a rent. The other one is a buy.

HARRIS: OK.

Microsoft also trying to take a bite out of Google's turf here?

SERWER: Yes. You know, these Google mapping technology, Google Earth. It's been...

HARRIS: We rely on those things...

SERWER: ... huge.

HARRIS: So, yes.

SERWER: Yes. Well, now Microsoft is coming out with its own mapping product, a 3-D mapping product. It's very cool. Check this out, Tony. For 15 large U.S. cities -- I think we've got Atlanta there, maybe. That looks kind of familiar.

HARRIS: Yes, it does. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SERWER: And so, you know, but they're going to have a long way to go...

HARRIS: There's the center.

SERWER: ... yes, that's it -- a long way to go to catch up with Google because Google has given away 100 million free copies of Google Earth since it introduced it in June of 2005.

So that is quite an advantage. And Microsoft, of course, is going to be expanding it beyond these 15 original cities. You know, the technology looks good and there's just a question of trying to catch up with Google...

HARRIS: Yes.

SERWER: ... which a whole lot of companies are trying to do these days.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Isn't that the truth?

All right, Andy, see you a little later in the hour.

SERWER: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

COLLINS: To Illinois now, where an Iraq war veteran is fighting a new battle on the political front lines.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst -- how do things look in the Midwest this morning there, Keith?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, this is a really interesting race. It's a choice for voters here in the 6th District of Illinois between a political newcomer and an experienced legislator. The legislator, the Republican, State Senator Peter Roskam, is pushing conservative themes in a district that tends to lean Republican.

After all, this is the district that was held by Congressman Henry Hyde for 32 years.

But lo and behold, out of the primary comes Tammy Duckworth. Two years ago, this month, Heidi, Tammy Duckworth, a copilot in Iraq, she was in the Air National Guard, her helicopter was hit by a rocket- propelled grenade.

Fortunately, there was another co-pilot to land the chopper. She lost both her legs. She's a double amputee, a disabled veteran.

So when she walks into a room in this district and she starts talking about a gradual pullout of troops from Iraq, she does so with some credibility.

Peter Roskam has certainly not tried to attack her personally, but he's been trying to push conservative themes.

And it's really a toss-up. A race that would normally be favoring Republican is too close to call -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, Keith, who has the advantage in this one?

OPPENHEIM: I would have to say that you would have to think that you would have to think that Peter Roskam has a slight advantage because the Republican apparatus here is more poised to elect a Republican for the open seat.

But that is a -- probably an unclear prediction at this point. Tammy Duckworth's compelling story, and the national mood being what it is, make this race impossible really to judge at this point.

COLLINS: Yes, and according to our clock on the screen, it's only 8:31 there right now.

OPPENHEIM: That's right.

COLLINS: So we'll probably have to wait. OK. Thank you so much, Keith Oppenheim in Elmhurst, Illinois.

HARRIS: What a big day yesterday for the Dow. We'll get to that in a moment. Stepan Company sounding the opening bell this morning. This is a company, Heidi -- I know you love this, because you're curious as to who sounds the bell on a daily basis. This is the company, global manufacturer, a specialty in intermedia chemicals used in consumer products: soaps, adhesives...

COLLINS: Wow.

HARRIS: ... sealants and pipe coating.

COLLINS: Great.

HARRIS: Did you like that? Like to know that?

The Dow, what a day yesterday, up 119 points. We're off to a quick start. The Dow up just 3, 4 points. The day is just beginning. We will check in with Andy a little later for the forecast for this business day.

COLLINS: That's a story.

HARRIS: How about that?

COLLINS: The Dow just exploded.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, though, problems at the polls. Our Ali Velshi is keeping tabs on precincts around the nation. We're going to check in with him in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Battle in the Buckeye State, a high stakes race to watch for, the Senate, that's for sure. We're live in Ohio with the very latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Ohio, one of today's big battleground states. CNN national correspondent Bob Franken is standing by in Columbus for us.

Good morning to you there, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

Eleven thousand three hundred voting precincts in Ohio, and there are predictions that, of the 7 1/2 million plus voters, there's going to be a record turnout here. We were seeing at this particular precinct and are still seeing a fairly substantial turnout.

CNN has live picture inside this particular voting precinct in Columbus, Ohio, where things have settled down a bit because the before-work crunch has disappeared now. But people are still coming in in a steady stream, and they're voting in an election where there is extremely high interest.

The incumbent Republican senator, Mike DeWine, voted this morning near his home area. He lives in the Dayton area of Ohio, and he went to the precinct today to make his vote known. We can only guess what he's going to be voting, and I suspect we can guess it's going to be straight Republican.

However, the problem for the Republican Party in this state is that Mike DeWine, according to the polls, is in some trouble. His Democratic opponent, Sherrod Brown, will be voting in the Cleveland area in the not too distant future, and he can expect to be voting a straight "D," too.

The Republicans are having great difficulty because not only of the national (AUDIO GAP) Bush, et cetera, and the national issues of scandals that have been swirling around the GOP. Many of those come home to roost in Ohio.

Most notably, congressman, or former congressman, Bob Ney, who resigned his district only last Friday, long after he had pleaded guilty and awaits conviction on bribery-related charges. That is one that is probably going to splatter over the various districts here. House of Representative districts, five of them are competitive or Republicans are in deep trouble.

The ones that are competitive are ones that would usually be an easy, easy run for the GOP of the 22 in Ohio.

So, Ohio is considered the bellwether state. As this state goes oftentimes in politics, so goes the nation. So, if the Republicans don't do well here, that might be the...

COLLINS: Unfortunately, we lost Bob Franken, but he certainly had quite a lot of information to share with us, and we'll continue to follow him. Now he's back.

Bob, finish your thoughts. Can you hear me?

FRANKEN: Well, yes, I can hear you and I don't know what happened there. However, I just wanted to say that Ohio is a state that oftentimes predicts the rest of the nation, and we'll see if the Democrats do well here, which might be what predicts what's going to happen in the United States.

Or if the Republicans have their way and their get out the vote effort works as well as it has in the past, whether there is a big upset here -- Heidi.

COLLINS: See, it's such a hot race that we lose the signal. It's so hot.

HARRIS: There you go. Burns the transmission lines.

COLLINS: Bob Franken, excellent, thank you so much.

HARRIS: CNN's Ali Velshi checking on reports of voting irregularities around the country.

And Ali, I think you're paying particular attention to some activity in Indiana?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Indiana seems to be the place to be looking at.

First of all, Tony, I want to say that a lot of the information we're getting this morning is coming from iReport on CNN.com...

HARRIS: Good.

VELSHI: ... which gives people an opportunity to send us either their video or their pictures or their information.

So if you are having problems or you are seeing problems, obviously, report it to the authorities at the polls or your secretary of state, but go to CNN.com and click on iReport because we're getting a great deal of information. And obviously, when we get a preponderance of information about one place, we start to realize it's legitimate.

I mean, some of the things are maybe people sort of sour grapes because they haven't been able to get in there. But Indiana, we're getting a lot of reports, particularly out of Delaware County, in the Muncie area in Indiana, problems related to the software in the voting machines...

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

VELSHI: ... delayed the opening of some 70 precincts this morning. Took them a while to get them opened. As of about 9 a.m. Eastern -- we've been in very close touch with the people in Indiana --t does turn out that all the polls are open in that county, with the exception of Edentown, which is also in the same county. They've got a power outage. So that's a different problem entirely.

But in Delaware County in Indiana, they are going to the courts to ask for an extension, I believe a three-hour extension in the voting in that county, in Indiana, which as you know, Tony, is already complicated because Indiana works in a couple of time zones.

HARRIS: Right.

VELSHI: So, Indiana, there's that problem.

There's an entirely different problem in Indiana, which we have also confirmed. We got this at iReport. Somebody wrote in and said he walked into the polls at 6:10 a.m. this morning, was told that the vote counting machine was down, "So I filled out my ballot. And once I completed the ballot I was instructed to place it in a knapsack..."

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

VELSHI: ... "which is being controlled by an election official."

Now, we've been talking to the election officials. They claim it was a briefcase.

HARRIS: OK.

VELSHI: But any way you want to cut it, I think you can say that the vote is in the bag in Indiana. I needed to say that.

HARRIS: That's good. That worked. OK, Ali, we appreciate it. You're going to be following this for us all morning.

VELSHI: We will. All across the country.

HARRIS: Appreciate it. Thank you.

VELSHI: Please send those reports in.

HARRIS: Yes, OK. Yes, good reminder.

COLLINS: And on that note, before you head to the polls, here are some reminders to make the process smoother. Double-check your polling place. If your station has been moved you should have been contacted, but just in case, check with your local elections office.

If you use a web site, there may also be a sample ballot. Making your selections now will save time for everybody at the voting site.

And while you're at it, confirm the hours your local polls will be open today, because they're a little bit different almost everywhere you look.

And finally, remember to bring along some form of identification, of course.

HARRIS: Flooding and possible -- is quite a factor for voters in Washington state this election day, a Pacific storm dumping heavy rain on western Washington. More than six inches fell in 24 hours in some areas.

Well, that prompted evacuations, rescues and a state emergency for 18 counties. At least one person was killed. Election officials in Washington's most populous county say floodwaters could cut off access to some polling places. We can deal with the election issue. That's a separate matter, but that's a serious condition out there in Washington state.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right. Chad Myers, thank you for that.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Already sentenced to death, Saddam Hussein is still on trial. Today in court, a witness shows his wounds. He says the former dictator is responsible. We go live to Baghdad coming up.

HARRIS: And they make decisions about America's sons and daughters serving in Iraq, including their own. Congressmen with a personal stake in the war ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Already sentenced to death, Saddam Hussein back in court today. This time he's facing charges from a crackdown against Iraqi Kurds into late 1980s.

Our Aneesh Raman following the trial, and he's now with us live from Baghdad.

It is known as the Anfal trial, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi. Good morning.

Saddam Hussein back in court. It's the second trial, the first one now over after Saddam got a guilty verdict of crimes against humanity Sunday, sentenced to death.

Today he is back in the docket, facing an additional charge, among crimes against humanity. This time it includes genocide for what was dubbed the Anfal campaign that targeted the country's Kurdish population back in the late '80s. Allegedly around 180,000 people were killed.

On Sunday you'll recall, quite a defiant, angry Saddam Hussein embarking on a seemingly never-ending monologue as the judge issued that sentence. Today much more subdued. Today in court he actually called for peace among Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAQ (through translator): I call on all Iraqis, Arabs and Kurds, to show forgiveness, forgive and shake hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now also in court, three witnesses testified. They were all, they say, survivors of a mass execution that took place in late 1988. They were villagers who had given up essentially to the Iraqi Army after being promised amnesty that they say was given by the order of Saddam Hussein. That turned out to be a lie. They were then shot at.

And in court today, the witnesses lifted up their shirts to show bullet wounds that remain, scars from what happened in the late '80s.

As I mentioned, this trial includes a charge of genocide. The last one did not. But of course, Saddam has been convicted and sentenced to death. And we heard from a prosecutor late yesterday that the appeals process on that first trial could end by mid-January.

We've heard from the court that if the appeals process upholds the sentence of death, Saddam will be executed, despite this second trial going forward -- Heidi.

COLLINS: As we look at those pictures, Aneesh, of this person who claims that Saddam Hussein did that and left those scars to his back, asking for money. Is there any possibility that some of these people, I'm assuming there may be more that come forward, could actually receive money?

RAMAN: Well, that's what will be interesting when we read the full verdict from the first trial, because villagers in Dujail, which was the source of the first trial, had their homes destroyed, their farms destroyed. They asked for monetary compensation, as well.

The court really didn't talk about that in its verdict. And we'll wait to see in the writing whether or not monetary compensation is given.

They will have the opportunity, though, in civil Iraqi court, not in this high tribunal, to file similar charges, sort of a similar case versus a criminal case that you see back in the U.S. So, again, they have the chance to do it. The question is whether they'll be able to do it within his high tribunal

COLLINS: I see. All right. Understood. Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad this morning. Aneesh, thank you.

HARRIS: And still to come, they make decisions about America's sons and daughters serving in Iraq, including their own. Congressmen with a personal stake in the war ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And help for injured combat veterans in the form of a four-legged friend. But who's training the dog? That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Didn't we just tell folks a moment ago about this Pacific storm that was dumping all of this rain on Washington state?

COLLINS: Yes. And this guy knows about it.

HARRIS: Look at this.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: This is a guy who is -- you know, he's flooded out of his car right now because of all -- we're talking about more than, what, six inches of rain in the last 24 hours in some parts of the state? Pictures here from our affiliate in Washington state, KIRO. KIRO.

Snohomish County, Washington. Is that -- is that correct, Chad? And that's very near Monroe, Washington.

MYERS: Near Monroe, right. So that's really the very western- most part of Snohomish county.

Now there's also -- there are two real rivers that this could be. It could be the Skykomish or it could be the Snoqualmie. I just don't know where they are at this point in time.

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: But it's been kind of coming in and coming out. The man obviously didn't drive into something that's this deep, but now the water is still coming up.

I'm suspecting that he probably drove into something two or three feet deep, maybe even two feet, stalled the car out in the water. And now the water continues to rise. And what looks like land over there is actually some washed-in debris that he's into, so now there's no way to get in or out of there at all.

Just to the top of your screen, it looks like a land mass. Well, in fact, that's right over the road. That road continues right there, but there's no way for him to get there. Because now -- even if the car could run there's no way to get there, because all that debris has washed into that river.

HARRIS: But Chad, this picture here gives you an opportunity to tell folks at home that -- a bit more complete picture of the weather story out there and what these folks are dealing with.

MYERS: Well, we talked about how this could impact the election, of course.

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: But I don't know that this guy was on his way to work or wherever. But clearly, this was dark at the time. You have problems in the dark. You never know if there's water over the road in the dark and you don't know how deep it is.

Now as we get into a little bit of daylight that may help a little bit. But you just need to be so careful out there.

The good news is this doesn't look like at this point rushing water, but there's also power lines very close to him, which probably is making some kind of air rescue a little more difficult.

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: Yes, Chad, isn't it supposed to be so much worse tomorrow because that's what the highest water will crest, early tomorrow morning or something, right?

MYERS: It just depends on where you are. Obviously, the water that's been up on top of the mountain, on top of the cascades, still running down. If you're closer to Seattle, closer to the coast, your water will come up the highest tomorrow.

If you are at the headlands, at the beginning of where the creeks or streams start, then your highest water will actually be today, and the water will slow down for tomorrow.

But a dangerous situation for everybody out there. Washington and Oregon, and even as far east as Idaho and Montana. A lot of rain in some of those higher elevations, even from, from Coeur D'Alene back to over to some of the areas near Butte, Montana. About three to four inches of rain overnight, guys.

HARRIS: OK, Chad. You will watch it for us. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Crews expect to have a fire in Southern California fully contained today. You saw the flare-up live here on CNN yesterday. It was ferocious.

The wind-driven blaze burned more than 600 acres about 60 miles east of L.A., an industrial yard. Those are the pictures you saw. It was leveled. Two schools evacuated.

The blaze caused about $1 million in property damage, but amazingly, after all of these pictures that you saw, no injuries reported.

Firefighters are still concerned, of course, though; gusty winds could cause another flare-up today. Warnings are posted for much of Southern California.

HARRIS: Well, the battle for Capitol Hill, a key race in Missouri could help determine who controls the Senate. Meet us in St. Louis after the break.

PHILLIPS: As Indiana goes, so goes the country? First results could be a key barometer. That, too, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed.

Here's what's on the rundown. Who will call the shots in Congress? Voters decide today. Some pundits painting this election as a referendum on the president and his policies.

COLLINS: And, hey, it's not too late to find out more about your candidate. Our Gerri Willis stops by with web sites for last-minute details on the races.

HARRIS: And slogging it out to the polls. One corner of the country caps a nasty campaign season with nasty weather on this Tuesday, November 7. You are in the NEWSROOM.

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